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Day 132 -134: Hoi An (Vietnam)
The 16-hour overnight train ride to Da Nang (en route to Hoi An), was not bad. We managed to get a few hours of sleep so we were ready to face our first day in the historic city. Hoi An first popped on our radar several weeks ago as a result of meeting a lovely lady in Turkey. She had visited Vietnam a few times in the recent past and spoke very passionately about the country and of course Hoi An.
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Day 129 – 131: Hanoi (Vietnam)
The next stop on our trip was Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and home to 6.5 million people. As the plane descended upon the sprawling city an un-erasable grayish haze appeared beneath the clouds. And so the rainy season had finally caught up with us – it rained with purpose during our first night.
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Day 124 – 128: Luang Prabang (Laos)
The flight to Laos‘ Luang Prabang (from Chiang Mai), was a brief hour of floating above puffy white clouds. From 17,000 feet (we flew on a propeller plane), the green mountainous landscape and brown Mekong River severing through was something we couldn’t stop staring at. The landlocked nation was very new to us in every sense. Also unknown were a couple of interesting things about Laos. 1: subjectively, it’s one of the most beautiful places on Earth and 2: factually, it’s been ruled by the communist party since the 1970s and was also the most bombed place on Earth (by who? the US). But no time to dig into a…
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Day 122 – 124: Chiang Mai (Thailand)
Our next stop in Thailand was the northern city of Chiang Mai. The cultural and historic city was loaded with temples, coffee shops and bike/motorbike rental places. Its favorable proximity to the mountains also made it ideal for outdoor adventures.
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Day 119 – 120: Bangkok Part 2 (Thailand)
Our last two days in Bangkok saw us cover much of the city in our quest for more sight-seeing. Home to about 8 million people the city stretches over a vast area with considerable walking distances between various points of interest.
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Day 117 – 118: Bangkok (Thailand)
It was a long ride from Turkey to Thailand but after 2 flights and 15 hours we landed at Bangkok International Airport. We planned on 5 days & 4 nights in the Thai capital and our hotel was smack in the middle of Khao San Road, a vibrant part of the city catering to tourists and backpackers alike. Coming to Bangkok was special for Brigitte; she lived here for 4 of her childhood years and this was her first time back in 27 years.
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Day 114 – 116: Bodrum (Turkey) & Kos (Greece)
With 3 remaining days in Bodrum, we decided to make the best of the area. Turkish and Greek islands galore, boat tours galore, sun and sea galore is what we had at our disposal. On day one we signed up for a local boat tour (10 people max), which took us around the nearby Turkish islands exploring different bays and taking in plenty of sun.
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Day 112 – 113: Ephesus & St. Peter’s Castle (Bodrum)
The next stop on our tour was Ephesus, an ancient Greek city that’s situated in the Izmir province of Turkey (on the western coast). The city retained its prominence during Roman times and became its capital in the East (or Asia Minor). But eventually Ephesus saw its destruction at the hands of invaders coupled with an earthquake in the 7th century AD. In its prime, Ephesus was home to a whopping population of 250,000 and also home to the Temple of Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world).
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Day 109 – 111: Cappadocia (Turkey)
Our next destination in Turkey was Cappadocia, the central and ancient region of the country. Cappadocia is derived from Katpatukya which means “land of beautiful horses” in an ancient Persian language. This was also one of Brigitte’s “Must See” points on our trip. And for the first time on our journey we joined a tour (as well as for the remaining part of our Turkey trip). We figured this would free us from much planning and also give us a deeper perspective on a country of numerous wonders.
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Day 106 – 107: Istanbul – Part 2 (Turkey)
Having covered some of the main attractions on our first day, we decided to explore another one of Istanbul’s many faces on day two. The Bosphorus river cruise was recommended not only by friends but also every guidebook we looked at. It’s a great way to see more of the city that ostensibly continues to expand beyond its boundaries.